-May 16, 2022-
Good morning, happy Monday,
“Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard of it, and His anger burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.”
(Numbers 11:1).
God had been so good to the Israelites. He had delivered them from their bondage to Egypt, parted the Red Sea so that they could pass through on dry ground, and drown Pharaoh and his pursuing army. And not only that but He provided water for them out of the rock to drink, manna and quail for them to eat, gave them victory for Og king of Bashan, Sihon king of the Amorites, and the Amalekites. Still, they murmured and complained against the Lord and His servant Moses.
Are we any different? The Lord saved us from our sins, gave us eternal life, a home in heaven, all spiritual blessings in Christ, all things that pertain to life and godliness, and an inheritance reserved for us in heaven. Instead being thankful, we complain. It is always either too hot or not hot enough; it is either too cold or not cold enough; we either have no job or we don’t like that job we do have; our homes are either too big or too small; our cars are either too old or have too many miles; we are still single or we are married and not satisfied; we either have no kids or the ones we have seemed to always get into something bad.
When Israel complained, God was displeased and angry with them. The word complain is defined as, “To express dissatisfaction or annoyance about something.” We never feel we have enough. We ask, “Why am I not blessed like so and so?” We forget that each of us unique. God has blessed us so much, and we have so many things to be thankful for. The grass always looks greener on the other side until we try it and find it worse not better. Satan often colors the brown, dry grass of this world green to make it seem so desirable to us.
The answer to overcoming complaining is to be content with what we have and thankful for all that the Lord has given us. God has been so good to us and has given so much to us. He sometimes tests us by taking something away from us, either temporarily or permanently, to see how we will respond. Will we still be joyful and thankful? Or will we complain and be disappointed or discouraged?
Paul warned us in 1 Corinthians 10:9-11, “nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; nor complain, as some of those also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” It is so easy to complain, and it seems some people are never happy unless they have something to complain about. It should be the other way around for us, as believers we shouldn’t be happy unless we find something good to thank God for.
Today’s verse shows that God hears our complaints and is not happy about them, in fact, He is displeased and angry. When we complain we show we don’t appreciate what He has done for us and has given to us. Instead let us joyfully give thanks, be content, and not take God’s blessings for granted.
Have a blessed day being thankful for the little or the much, not complaining. Stay safe and healthy.
In His abundant blessings,
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 